— Bio:From Sept 11, 2001 Thomas Drake served as a senior official at the National Security Agency where he witnessed massive waste, contract fraud and government wrongdoing as well as widespread violations of the 4th Amendment rights of U.S. citizens. While at NSA, he became a material witness and whistleblower for two 9/11 congressional investigations and with a Department of Defense Inspector General audit. Claiming that Drake had disclosed classified information regarding the domestic warrantless surveillance program, the NSA through the Department of Justice charged him with 10 felony charges (including 5 under the Espionage Act carrying 35 year sentences). After years of harassment all these charges were dropped. The judge hearing his case characterized the government’s treatment of him as "unconscionable”.

While at the NSA Drake was also visiting professor of strategic leadership and information strategy at the National Defense University with the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He was at Booz | Allen | Hamilton as a management, strategy and technology consultant and software quality engineer from 1991-1998. From 1992 to 1997, Drake also served as an all-source Intelligence Officer in the US Navy Reserve at the National Military Joint Intelligence Center (NMJIC), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) on the ELINT desk, Terrorism Desk, and the Middle East/North Africa Desk. In 1989, he served as an all-source imagery analyst with US intelligence (CIA). Prior to 1989, he served in the US Air Force on active duty as an airborne Cryptologic Linguist covering East Germany. A recipient of several awards for whistleblowing, Drake now writes, speaks and teaches on whistleblowing, the 1st and 4th Amendment, civil liberties, secrecy, surveillance and abusive government power.